


famille de quatre

by eliottamoureux



Category: SKAM (France)
Genre: M/M, Pet Adoption, elu as cat dads, literally just so fluffy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 07:13:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22759813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eliottamoureux/pseuds/eliottamoureux
Summary: Eliott looks down at their joined hands, then up at Lucas’ face. He shakes his head in disbelief, before he breaks out into the biggest, most beautiful grin Lucas has seen in his entire life.“We’re getting a cat,” He repeats, and then he leans over, kissing Lucas enough to make him breathless. “Lucas, we’re gonna beparents!”— or, sometimes a family is two boys in love and two girls—who happen to be cats— in love.
Relationships: Eliott Demaury/Lucas Lallemant
Comments: 8
Kudos: 178





	famille de quatre

**Author's Note:**

> would like 2 thank skamfr writers for killing fifi and pushing me to write something soft to counterbalance the emotional whiplash that dimanche 19h15 gave me in an attempt to calm the frazzled masses
> 
> the final cat-encounter is largely based on my own experience in meeting my baby boy, my son, my precious little cat toothless, over four years ago. he's also been purring at my side for most of the time i spent writing this— special thanks to him, for being the best morale booster ever, as per usual.

There are certain things that make Eliott smile even wider than usual.

When Lucas got up in the wee hours of the morning on his 20th birthday, for example, so that he could wake him up with a perfectly-baked cake, still a little warm from the oven. 

Or the time when he surprised him with the director’s cut of a film he _really_ wanted to see, on the day that it came out— which, though Lucas will never tell him, _also_ took him waking up in the wee hours of the morning to achieve. And waiting well into the day. And skipping class.

This time around— thankfully— did not take an extra-early morning. Rather, weeks of preparation.

Because this time, as Eliott has been excitedly telling anyone and everyone who will listen—

“We’re getting a cat.” Eliott says, simply, more to himself than anything else as they get into Eliott’s parents’ car— borrowed for the day, for their little trip to the closest shelter. 

“We are,” Lucas says, reaching over to take his hand. Eliott looks down at their joined hands, then up at Lucas’ face. He shakes his head in disbelief, before he breaks out into the biggest, most beautiful grin Lucas has seen in his entire life.

“We’re getting a _cat_ ,” He repeats, and then he leans over, kissing Lucas enough to make him breathless. “Lucas, we’re gonna be _parents!”_ Lucas laughs at him, his voice overflowing with affection, with _love,_ kissing Eliott on the cheek.

“We won’t be if we spend all day making out in the car.”

“Right, fair point.” But then Eliott’s pressing their lips together again, before he pulls back, putting the key in the ignition. When Lucas scoffs at him, he shrugs, “One more, for the road.”

* * *

“— So, this is our cat room,” The volunteer says, opening the door as the two of them follow. It’s not too loud— not _nearly_ as loud as Lucas was expecting— and there are only a few other people in there with them— another couple, as well as a family with a little girl. “All of the cats with aggression problems or illnesses have signs on their cages, so make sure to read those. Otherwise, though, you’re welcome to open the cages and say hello to any cat you like!” Eliott nods along as the volunteer speaks, and Lucas can _feel_ him trying to hold his excitement in. “If you meet anyone that you want to bring home, let any of the staff know, and we’ll walk you through the paperwork.”

“Thank you!” They say at the same time, laughing at each other as they’re left to roam around the room. Cages line the walls on every side, and Eliott turns around, in a full circle.

“Where do we start?” He asks, and Lucas hums in thought. Then he’s spinning around, his eyes closed and his arm stretched out as Eliott laughs at him. He stops after a few moments, pointing at a cage.

“There.” Lucas says, looking back at Eliott. When Eliott nods, they both go over.

To an empty cage.

Eliott’s laughing again, light as air, as Lucas pretends to scowl. Then they step to the next cage over, and begin their search.

* * *

The room didn’t look _that_ large, when they first came in. An hour later, though, they’re both made painfully aware of exactly how many cats they’re dealing with. Naturally, Eliott has fallen in love with every single one.

When they found one who has a “slight drooling issue” that’s tied to anxiety, dripping on the floor of her cage as they look in at her. Lucas can only think of the mess that she’ll cause in their apartment, but Eliott’s looking at her like she’s the most precious thing he’s ever seen.

Next they meet one who’s yowling in its cage, due to— according to the sign on the outside— separation anxiety. They both quickly agree that they’re not home enough to remedy something like that, and Lucas sends a silent prayer to whatever powers may be that it’ll find a home with a family who will give it the care it needs.

There’s another who suffers from wobbly cat syndrome— a neurological condition that makes it tremble and nearly fall over, with every step— but who snuggles up to them as best as it can nonetheless. Eliott looks ready to weep with joy when it starts to lick his arm, but then they look to the sign, reading “ADOPTION PENDING” on it in big, bold letters.

There are dozens and dozens of others; kittens and elderly cats, hairless cats, long-haired cats, and everything in between. Lucas meets a three-legged one that he finds himself particularly fond of— but, as with the wobbly one, he’s already being adopted. They’ve surely been through almost— if not, all— of the cages. They step back, into the middle of the room, to weigh their options. 

“There were a few that I could see us getting,” Lucas says, and Eliott nods in agreement. “The squeaky one was cute.”

“And the one that hopped right up onto your shoulders when we opened the cage.”

“Yeah, that one, too. Maybe we could go home and—”

“But _Papa,”_ the young girl cuts them off as she stomps away, whining loudly, “Why _not?_ ”

“Élise, we’ve told you,” The man with her— assumedly her father— “We don’t have enough room for two cats, and these two need to find a home where they can be together.”

“ _Why?_ ” Élise asks, her lip jutted out in an overdramatic pout. 

“Because they love each other very very much.” Her mother continues, “And so the people here at the shelter want them both to go to the same home.”

“ _No,_ Mama, why can’t we take them _both?_ ”

“Because we said so, Élise. You see this sign?” Her mother points to it. “They need a quiet home, and they get scared if there’s too much noise.”

“But I can be quiet!” Élise shouts, then whispers— “I mean, _I can be quiet,”_.

“I know you can, but these kitties need it to be quiet all the time, and sometimes you can get a bit loud with your friends.”

“Why don’t we go and take a look at the puppies? Maybe we’ll be able to find a new friend there.” Har parent’s tactics have clearly proven successful, since Élise jumps up and down, before running out the door, her parents close in tow. With Élise gone, the room is considerably quieter, and now they can both hear a low, rumbling purr coming from the one cage they haven’t come to yet.

When they walk up to it, Eliott full-on _gasps._

There are two cats snuggled up in the corner, one asleep, the other awake, licking the back of the first one’s head to clean it. One of them is a calico, the other grey, both about the same size. The sleeping cat is one purring— surely loud enough that it could be heard at the other side of the room. Eliott opens the door, reaching a hand in slowly. The calico stretches her neck out, sniffing at it. She continues as Eliott holds his breath, but then she rubs her face against Eliott’s hand, then his wrist. The grey one stirs, and then wakes with a sleepy _mew_ that steals Lucas’ heart in one fell swoop.

“Hello _darling,”_ Eliott coos. “Lucas, she’s so soft, come feel her.” Lucas reaches his hand in alongside Eliott’s, and he’s right. Both of them are pillow-soft, and just as willing to be pet by Lucas as they were by Eliott. He looks at the sign on their door— _BONDED PAIR: we’re a package deal, and must be adopted together! We like quieter homes, and don’t do too well around small children—_ and realizes that they’re kind of perfect for them. 

They look at each other wordlessly, and nod, before going to find the volunteer who helped them out before.

* * *

“— And _here’s_ the slip for your free vet appointment, which is valid for the first week after adopting, at most vets in the city.”

“First week, alright.”

“We typically do a follow-up call a couple weeks after adoption, but other than that, you’re all set!”

“Perfect! Thank you for all of your help.”

He takes one carrier while Eliott takes the other— both donations from the shelter— and before they know it, they’re back in the car, both carriers strapped in in the back seat.

“Oh my god,” Eliott says, in the same tone as he did when he said _we’re getting a cat_ earlier. “We have a cat— we have _two_ cats! Lucas, we’re cat dads!” And Lucas would be excited even if Eliott wasn’t— he grew up with a cat, and is thankful to have more to live with— but the fact that Eliott looks ready to burst multiplies his excitement tenfold.

* * *

Though the drive home takes a bit longer than the drive there did, they’re soon back in their apartment, setting the carriers on the floor, and opening the little doors. The two of them go about their business— all of the websites they had consulted had said to let the cats make the way around on their own term— but Lucas can’t help looking over toward the carriers, warmth filling his chest when he sees a fuzzy face peeking out.

“Have you thought about names?” He asks Eliott, and he hums in thought, leaning against the counter.

“The calico is sort of like the _fresque,_ don’t you think? We could name her after that, somehow.”

“Ooh, I like that,” Lucas says, tapping his chin as he contemplates, “What about… Pollock? Like, Jackson Pollock? We can call her Polly, for short.” Eliott’s face lights up. He knows about Eliott’s affinity for him— _fresque_ or no _fresque_.

“That’s the best idea, I love that so much.” He kisses Lucas’ cheek, and Lucas leans into it.

“I’m glad. What about the grey one?”

“Hm… What about Virginia? Like Woolf? Ginny?”

“That’s precious. And it’s clear these two girls are in love,” Lucas gestures toward where their two cats— Ginny and Polly— are rubbing against each other, causing them to flinch a bit. “— Woah, hey, sorry, didn’t mean to startle you, sweethearts.” Lucas takes a few steps away, hands raised in surrender. “It’s as good of an homage as any, I think.” Eliott’s gone on and on about Woolf’s romance with Sackville-West, and her other affairs with women— one of the things that helped him come out to himself, when he was younger. It’s one of the things that makes his eyes light up the most— and so, in turn, it’s something Lucas could listen to him talk about forever, if he had to.

“I agree.” Eliott stands up straight, hands on his hips, taking a mock-official stance. “Well then, Virginia and Pollock Lallemant-Demaury, welcome to the family.” 

Lucas has cried a couple of times, since they moved in together. More than anything, from the sheer weight of this new life hitting him, of remembering how far he’s come since this time last year, since he was scared and closeted and _alone._

Now, he’s out and in love and surrounded by people that care for him.

All that and two cats.

This time though, rather than crying, he manages to keep it at bay, distracting his brain.

“Why my last name first?”

“I think Lallemant-Demaury has a better ring to it than Demaury-Lallemant.” Eliott says, as if this is something he’s put a lot of thought into. His heart swells, when he thinks of Eliott contemplating the best hyphenated name combo for them— thinks of a future when they’ll actually have to make that choice.

“Hm, I suppose. But hey,” Lucas leans in, pulling Eliott to him, asking “What if I want to be just Lucas Demaury, when we get married?” before he kisses him once, twice. The blush that colours Eliott’s cheeks is one that Lucas would keep there forever, so content and in love and _alive._

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”

**Author's Note:**

> another thanks goes to [joanna](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Joana789/pseuds/Joana789) [(@oheliotts on tumblr)](https://oheliotts.tumblr.com/), my moon my stars my _raison d'être_ , who— when i asked whether i should name the cat that they adopt after jackson pollock or virginia woolf— said 'why not both?' an absolutely galaxy brain idea this is why you befriend other writers
> 
> also— though this is all i have written at this point— i can definitely see me picking this AU up again! i have some ideas, but if you'd like to see these new dads and their babies doing anything in particular, don't hesitate to let me know. ✨


End file.
